I read a fascinating journal article this weekend that (among other things) challenges us to redefine downtime. The authors hypothesize that there are seven everyday activities, each with different but complementary beneficial effects on the mind that together optimize our “brain health”: (1) Sleep time; (2) Playtime; (3) Timein (meditation or reflective practice); (4) Downtime; (5) Connecting time; (6) Physical time; and (7) Focus time.
None of those were particularly surprising to me but what might be surprising is how the authors define downtime as “actually intentionally having no intention, of consciously engaging in doing nothing specific or ‘preplanned,’ a process of disconnecting from intended directions and surrendering to daydreaming, letting our minds wander off in no particular direction with spontaneity and freedom…‘being’ in the moment with spontaneous emergence of whatever activity may or may not arise rather than ‘doing’ a preplanned activity with a goal or preset agenda.” That means that working out, watching television, catching up on social media, playing a game, or even focusing on breath practice don’t count as downtime.
The type of downtime they describe is important because research tells us that unconscious thought produces better decisions than forcing immediate decisions using conscious, logical reasoning. Giving our brains this kind of downtime fosters greater creativity and innovation because some of the cognitive processes required for creativity and innovation only occur when we’re not focusing on a specific task.
So, if you feel unproductive if you’re not checking something off that endless list or you define downtime as binge watching the latest series or working on today’s Wordle, it’s time to rethink how you’re spending your time and make some time to do absolutely nothing. Your brain will thank you.
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